wessels



(No Model.)

7 Sheets---Sheet 1. E. J. WESSELS & G'- S. LEE.

AIR BRAKE.

No. 548,335.. I

Patented 001;. 22, 1895.

WITNESSES:

(No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. J. WESSELS & G. s. LEE. AIR BRAKE.

No. 548,335. Patented 001;. 22, 1895.

AN DREW EGRAHAM'. PNOTO-UTHQWASHINFI'UK D.C

(No Model.) r 7 Sheets-Sheet 4.

E. J. WESSELS & G. S. LEE.

' AIR BRAKE.

No. 548,335. Patented Oct. 22, 1895.

WITNESSES:

v 7Shets-Sheet 5. E; J. WESSELS 8t" G. S. LEE. AIR BRAKE.

Patented Oct. 22, 1895.

(No Model.)

(No Model.) 7 Sheets'Shee't 6. E. J. WESSELS & G. S. LEE.

AIR BRAKE.

Patented 0015.22, 1895.

' INVENTORS. hm&

ATTORNEYS (NovModeL) 7 ShetsShee't 7.

E. J. WESSELS & G. S. LEE. AIR BRAKE.

No. 548,335." Patented 001;. 22, 1895.

INIVENTORSI ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD J. WESSELS, OF WESTFIELD, AND GEORGE S. LEE, OF HAWTHORNE, NEWJERSEY, ASSIGNORS TO THE STANDARD AIR BRAKE COMPANY, OF

NEW YORK, N. Y.

Al R-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION-forming part of Letters Patent No. 548,335, dated October22, 1895.

Application filed March 8, 1895. Serial No. 541,065- (N model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, EDWARD J. WEssELs, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at Westfield, county of Union, and GEORGE S. LEE, acitizen of the United States, residing at Hawthorne, county of Passaic,State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Air-Brakes, of which the following is a specification.

[0 Our invention relates to certain improvements in brakes which areintended to be controlled byamotorman,brakeman,ordriver on acar-platform.

A form of air-brake for individual cars has I5 been used in which a pumpoperated by the rotation of'the ear-axle supplies air to reservoirswhence it is led to the brake-cylinder of the brake. The flow of the airto the reservoir and the brake-cylinder has been gov- 2o erned by ahand-lever and valve on the platform, and the air-pressure had to actthrough pipes of considerable length in order to pass by way of saidvalve. A loss of time and of pressure resulted from this. The form ofpump employed is also imperfect. Operating a pump under a car involvesthe subjection of the apparatus to very severe test, because of thejarring motion and the dust and dirt, and the pumps heretofore employedhave not 0 been entirely equal to coping with these difficulties.

Our improvement, therefore, relates to an air-brake system forindividual cars which possesses greater simplicity as to the circulationpart of the system, greater strength and durability of the pump andother parts of the system, and has certain other advantages which wewill refer to more fully hereinafter in describing the details of ourimproved apparatus.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification, Figure I is an under side view of a car-body and carwheels and axles, showing ourimprovements applied thereto. Fig. II is apartly-sectioned side view of our improved flexible coupling. Fig. IIIis a side elevation of an eight-wheel car to which our invention isapplied, partly broken away to show the air-reservoir and the connectiontherefrom to the car-platform. Fig. IV is a top view of the gage andquadrant. Fig. Vis a side elevation thereof. Fig. VI is a sectionalelevation of the valve, the operating-chain not being shown. Fig. VII

is atop-view thereof, showing the operating- XIII, illustrating anotherform thereof. Figs.

XVI and XVII are similar views illustrating another modification. Figs.XVIII and XIX are similar views illustrating still another form.

Referring to Fig. I, 1 is a car-body, and 2 are the axles of the car. 3is an air-pump, hung at one end from one of the axles 2 by means of itscasing 4, which is boxed on said axle, and at the other end by link 5(see Fig. XIV) from the car-body. 6 is the air-reservoir, located underthe car-body. as in Fig. I, or within the same, as in Fig. III, andreceiving air from pump 3 by pipe 7. A pipe 8 leads from the reservoir 6to the casing 9 of the controlling-valve. Another pipe 10 leads .fromsaid casing to the brake-cylinder 11,

which has the piston 12 for actuating the brake-beams. (Not shown.)Another pipe 13 leads from the valve-casing into an exhaustcylinder 14,which has the wire-netting or other perforated ends 15, and has a pipe16 communicating with the inlet of pump 3. The structure of the valve isshown in Figs. VI to XI. Within the casing 9 is arranged go the valve17, having a stem 18, on which are fixed the two sprocket or otherwheels 19 of operating chains or cables 20. The body of the valve 17 isfrusto-conioal, as shown, to engage the correspondingly-shaped walls of5 the casing 9, so as to allow adjustment of the valve to take up wear.The upward taper of the valve and its seat also precludes thepossibility of wedging of the valve by reason of the jarring action ofthe car. The body of the valve is made in two parts, held together inany desired way, and the parts have on their adjacent faces the grooves17 (shown in Figs. X and XI,) which when the two parts are placed andfixed rigidly together form the passage shown in dotted lines in Fig.IX. A pin 21 on the casing engages a slot- 22 on the upper half of thevalve-body 17 to limit the motion of the valve.

The operating-chains are connected by rods 23 with chains 24 onsprocket-Wheels 25 at the base of staffs 26 on the car-platform, havingat their upper ends hand-levers 27, moving over quadrants 28. Sunk intothe quadrant 28, in position to be constantly observed by the gripman ormotorinan, is a gage 29, which has connection by a small pipe 30directly with the air-reservoir 6.

By operating the hand-lever 27 the Valve 17 can be turned in its casing,thus causing the reservoir 6 to supply air to the brake-cylinder 11 orcausing the said brake-cylinder to exhaust through the valve into theexhaustcylinder 14. The purpose of the exhaust-cylinder is to deaden thenoise of the escaping air, at the same time supplying an alreadystrainedbody of air to the pump 3. The pump 3 is constantly in action while thecar is moving; but by reason of the regulating apparatus 31, well knownin this class of apparatus, it only pumps air into the cylinder 6 up toa certain pressure and then runs freely. The form of pipe connectionshown is adapted to secure the flow of air through the valve with theleast possible loss of time and pressure.

A great deal of trouble has been caused in these structures heretoforeby the shaking apart and loosening of the couplings, owing to the jar ofthe car. To obviate this we provide in each pipe at flexible couplingsuch as shown, in Fig. Il--that is to say, each of the pipes 7 8 10 1316 is at some point coupled by an armored rubber tube 32, securelyfastened in place, which not only allows of considerable latitude ofadjustment of the pipes to place, but gives such a resilient action tothe pipes that they cannot jar loose from their connections.

The pump and the driving parts, thereof are all thoroughly protectedfrom the dust. The cylinder 33 thereof is rigidly united with the casing34. In fact, the two form a single casing for the moving parts of thepump, and the part 34 of the casing is boxed on the axle 2, as alreadydescribed.

The casing may be put together in any preferred way. We have shown inthe drawings several different ways of accomplishing this. In Fig. XIIthe piston 35 of the pump is shown driven by a pitman 36, strap 37, andeccentric 38 from the axle 2, all of which parts are, as

will be seen, thoroughly protected by casing 33 34.

In Figs. XIV and XV, instead of an eccentric being arranged on the axle2, we provide thereupon a pinion 39, which drives a gear 40, mounted ona pin 41 on the casing 34. The gear carries a wrist-pin 42, whichoperates a pitinan 36, connected to the piston 35.

In Figs. XVI and XVII the pinion 39 drives a gear 40, which has insteadof the wrist-pin 42 a cam-groove 43, in which travels a pin 44 on rod45, which is guided to a right line by slot 46 and the pivot-pin 47 ofgear 40.

A receptacle 48 for oil, provided with a dripping-aperture 49 and, ifdesired, a wick 50, may be provided in the casing 34 in such position asto supply oil to the contact faces of the pinion and gear 39 40.

Another form of the pump is shown in Figs. XVIII and XIX, in which aneccentric groove 51 is formed in a disk 52, placed directly upon thecar-axle 2. In the groove 51 travels the pin 44 on the piston-rod 45,and the yoke 53 of the piston-rod is here enlarged sufiiciently toembrace the axle 2, which therefore guides the rod to a right line.

The disk 52 is provided with a hole 54 and the casing 34 with a door 55,to allow the pin and the autifriction-roller 56 thereon to be insertedand replaced when necessary.

Having thus described our invention, the following is what we claim asnew therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The combination of the air reservoir, the valve and valve casing, thebrake cylinder, the air pump and the exhaust cylinder 14 connected tosaid valve casing and to the air pump cylinder and having means foradmitting atmospheric air and for straining the same substantially asset forth.

2. The combination of the air reservoir, the

IOC

controlling staffs, the quad rant, having a seat for a gage, thecontrolling lever and the pressure gage fixed in said quadrant andhaving an air pipe connected with said reservoir, substantially as setforth.

3. The combination of the casing 33, 34, the piston 35, the car axle 2whereon the casing 34 is boxed, the piston rod 45-having the yoke 53 andpin 44 and the eccentric 52 having groove 51 substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of the casing 33, 34, the part 34 having the door 55,the eccentric 52 caving groove 51 and hole 54, the part 33 of the casinghaving piston 35 and the piston rod 45 having yoke 53 and pin 44 allarranged and adapted to operate, substantially as and for the purposesset forth.

EDWARD J. WESSELS. GEORGE S. LEE. Witnesses:

J. GREEN, M. V. BIDGOOD.

